Mac Market Share Update

A new Gartner report (reported by AppleInsider) notes that despite increased sales, the Mac has yet to gain a market share increase.

The report, however, partially conflicts with a previous ZDNet report based on preliminary Gartner data.

U.S. Mac Market Share
1Q 2005: 3.8%
4Q 2005 (AI): 3.5%
1Q 2006 (ZDNet): 3.5%
1Q 2006 (AI): 3.6%

Worldwide Mac Market Share
1Q 2005: 2.2%
1Q 2006 (ZDNet): 2.3%
1Q 2006 (AI): 2.0%

The PC industry as a whole is growing, with overall PC shipments in the U.S. booming 7.4% quarter over quarter and 13.1% year over year, so Mac sales would have to increase at a greater rate than the market as a whole in order for the Mac's market share to increase. Similarly, if Apple does not keep pace with the market, its share will decrease.

In a time when many users interested in buying a Mac have been waiting for Intel-based versions, Apple roughly maintaining its current market share is perhaps a feat unto itself. AppleInsider provides the following analysis:

To Apple's credit, [the .1%] uptick in U.S. PC market share was achieved during a quarter when most prospective Mac buyers were prolonging their computer purchases in favor new Intel-based models that had yet to come to market. This suggests the company could begin to realize some share gains in the latter half of the year, once all of its PC offerings are readily available with Intel processors.

Also from the report, Dell is beginning to lose some ground to rival HP. HP's worldwide market share increased 1.1%, while Dell lost 0.4% according to the report. Similar trends were also present for the companies' respective U.S. market shares.